Most of us were afraid of the dark when we were little, but after a few years, we grew out of it and turned off our nightlights. When it comes to beer, though, many people can't let go of that fear. They stick to the notion that somehow a beer being dark makes it strong, or that a fork put in a glass of stout will stand upright. That would be a pretty neat bar trick, but it's not going to happen.

Guinness suffers from that misconception most often. It is inky black with a dense creamy head, the antithesis of what the typical American lager looks like. If it doesn't look light, it must not be, the story holds.

Of course, it'll take more than math to win over those still scared of the dark.

One beer that might do the trick is Saint Arnold Santo. Billed as a black version of a Kölsch (something even they admit doesn't really exist), it has a mild flavor overall with a faint fruitiness. The malts that give it a dark brown color add caramel notes and a bit of roastiness, but not so much to scare off someone who's never ventured any darker than amber.

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Another step forward into new territory is Schwarzbier, which translates from German as “black beer.” It's the darkest traditional lager style, so it has the clean character that classic bottom-fermented beers are known for, while also having medium to prominent toasted and roasty malt flavors. Nonetheless, it's still a good bit more subtle than porters and stouts.

Köstritzer Schwarzbier is an authentic German version that we can get locally. Despite not being officially marketed as such, Pedernales Lobo Negro is a good example as well.

Being wary of dark beers is not something that's just limited to those timid about trying full-flavored beers. I run into people fairly often who are fine with IPAs but still won't venture away from the pale. For those, there's a perfect style to try: the Black IPA, sometimes referred to as a Cascadian Dark Ale.

They are similar to classic IPAs, but often use a type of roasted malt that's had the husk removed from the grain. The result is a lower level of aggressively roasty flavors than would be expected from a dark brown beer. They have a blend of hoppy, caramely and roasty flavors that give a rich impression that's quite different from a hoppy stout. Stone Sublimely Self Righteous is an excellent example of this style.

A quick footnote: San Antonio Beer Week is still in full swing. The events held so far have been very successful, with more still to come. Tuesday's Third Brewsday in HemisFair Park is the Week's grand finale, featuring music, food trucks and free samples from all five of San Antonio's brewpubs and microbreweries.